The Tetons: Classic Fault-Block Mountain Range

The Teton Range in northwestern Wyoming is a textbook example of a fault-block mountain range—and one of the most dramatic in the world.

Geologic Origin

The Teton Fault (normal fault) runs along the range's eastern base. The hanging wall (Jackson Hole) dropped; the footwall (the Tetons) rose—no foothills, just sheer 7,000 ft escarpment from valley floor to Grand Teton (13,775 ft).

Features

• Sharp, jagged peaks – young, not yet softened by erosion.
• Glacial sculpting: U-shaped canyons, cirques, moraines, alpine lakes (Jenny, Leigh, Jackson).
• Exposed crystalline core: Precambrian gneiss, granite, metamorphics.

Recreation Magnet

Grand Teton National Park draws hikers, climbers, photographers, skiers, wildlife watchers. The range is the iconic backdrop of the American West.